Chickens

Sheepdrove rear organic chickens for us to eat.

Organic farming provides high animal welfare.

The chickens are looked after well throughout their lives.

Read the information about the life of the chickens at Sheepdrove and then try to answer the questions in the box on the left.

1. The chickens arrive on the farm each week as day old chicks:

• The chicks live in a special indoor nursery with perches and have access to the outside world

• They are kept warm and are given clean sawdust for bedding

• The chicks live here until they are old enough to survive outside.

2. After three weeks it is time for the chickens to go out in the field, where they live in mobile chicken houses:

• The chicken houses are moved often to provide each flock fresh pasture. This helps to reduce illness

• No more than 500 chickens are allowed to live in each chicken house

• The farm encourages the birds to roam outdoors during daylight hours.

3. The chicken houses have perches and straw bedding and there are sandpits for scratching and preening (cleaning):

• The birds are mature at around ten to eleven weeks old

• They are caught in the early hours of the morning and travel a short distance to the purpose built slaughterhouse on the farm

• This process is humane and minimises any possible stress.

The combined effect of plenty of space and a varied diet provide the chickens with high standards of animal welfare whilst they are alive.

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